Sherlock&Holmes
by Arcana Dragonheart
Summary: The greatest detective of all time - twice. Two Sherlocks. They must work together to solve a mystery spanning time - wherever it may lead. Crossover of the books and the new series. Formatting now fixed and somewhat more readable. Tell me if not.
1. 221B Baker Street

221B Baker Street, London, England:

"Holmes?"

"Yes, Watson?"

"What on earth is that strange contraption?"

"I don't know. Yet."

221B Baker Street, London, England:

"Sherlock?"

"Yes, John?"

"What the hell is that weird machine?"

"I don't know. Yet."

221B Baker Street, London, England:

"Well, Holmes?"

"It appears to be some sort of device far more complex than any I have experienced in the past."

"Too complicated for _you?_"

"On the contrary. I would say this could be used for a sort of time-travel."

221B Baker Street, London, England:

"Well, Sherlock?"

"It's some kind of futuristic technology. I can't quite figure out how it works."

"Too complicated for _you?_"

"No. It's most definitely used for time-travel. Not in the way you might think, though."

"Send a letter through _time?_"

"Certainly. You observe the symbols at the top? They are clearly indicating some time. There is no place for a person or object, but examine this slot. It is the right measurements for a sheet of paper."

"But it could be sent to anyone!"

"No, no, my dear Watson. Whoever sent us this item obviously has a destination in mind. There is no way that I can fathom to change the symbols at the top."

"Sherlock, that's crazy. How can anyone send a letter through time?"

"The people who made this can, John. They sent it to us, after all. I suspect that this was actually sent to us from a different time, and that someone else has an identical one."

"What makes you say that?"

"There's no point in sending a letter without anyone to receive it."

"Holmes, you can't be serious. You have no idea who will get this letter!"

"I intend to find out."

...

"Sherlock . . ."

"I see it, John. An old style of paper, but looks new. Written with an old fountain pen by a man, in excellent shape and extremely intelligent. At least, that's what I can tell from a glance."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you going to read it?"

"Of course. Here, take a look."

_To whoever may receive this letter,_

_In hope that you are able to read English, I have decided to write and send this letter in order to make a little sense of the situation I find myself in. Just today, I discovered that a strange device had appeared in the flat that a companion and I share. We were naturally baffled as to its origins, as nothing this sophisticated has, to my knowledge, been constructed by human hands. We believe this to be a device that has the ability to span time, by means unknown to me._

_At the time I write this letter, it is the year 1890 by our reckoning. I live in London, a large city in England, an island west of the coast of continental Europe, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. _

_I live with a dear friend and colleague of mine, Dr. John Watson, at the address of 221B Baker Street. I spend my time solving matters that range from trivial to interesting, both at the request of the police and private clients. I am regarded as having the greatest intelligence and deductive prowess of any man alive today, save perhaps one. _

_I truly hope that we may communicate and perhaps work together to unravel the riddle that has been presented to us._

_Sincerely,_

_Sherlock Holmes_

"You can't believe this, Sherlock. It's crazy."

"Of course it's crazy. That's not going to stop me from sending a reply."

...

"Holmes! The device is lighting up again!"

"Similar to when I sent a letter through. Hmmm. We seem to be receiving something this time."

"What's it written on? I've never seen a substance quite like that."

"It would appear to be paper from the future, judging by its obvious increase in quality. I believe we can safely say that we have received a letter from people who do not yet exist. As for the letter itself . . . come, read it with me, Watson."

_To the person or people who sent the last letter,_

_It seems that we have come across a similar puzzle. I am also sending this letter by a machine with the abilities you described in your letter. My friend and I also share a flat and found this thing sitting in the room. As far as I know, humans in our time have never been able to make any kind of time machine, even one that can't send humans across time. Some scientists may be getting close, though. However, I am tempted to think that this wasn't built by humans at all._

_Far stranger that that is the other information you gave us. You see, my friend and I also live in London, England, a country that is a large island in the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, we live at 221B Baker Street. For the record, my friend's name happens to be Dr. John Watson. Oh, and this year is 2010 by our calendar._

_Sincerely,_

_Sherlock Holmes_

"What the devil could this all mean?"

"You are strongly moved indeed, Watson."

"On the contrary, you are extremely unmoved."

"Perhaps. In answer to your question, I believe this means that I shall be busy for quite some time."

* * *

Okay! To people who have not watched the new (2010) BBC series _Sherlock_, go and watch it. Right now. If anyone could pull the characters into the 21st century, this did.

Also, if you haven't watched the Jeremy Brett series based on the original books (almost perfectly translated into some scripts,) go and watch that too. Seriously.

Well, you can guess which incarnations of Holmes and Watson I'm using.

Also, a friend provided me with an explanation for time travel, but I'd love to hear theories and suggestions. At least until I get to the chapters where it's all explained.

Enjoy!


	2. Two Times

Real quick: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm surprised – never thought the story would get this much love this quickly. You guys are awesome.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Also, I'd love to hear any suggestions about the origin of the time-travel things.

Thanks again!

221B Baker Street, London

Present Day

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson had both inched towards the armchair during Sherlock's reading of the strange letter, but John leapt for it first, forcing Sherlock to perch on one of the kitchen chairs and stare at the machine that had appeared in the flat.

The couch was occupied by the third resident of the apartment, the skull Sherlock had obtained somewhere. John had already learned the hard way that if he moved of his the skull without permission, Sherlock would perform chemical experiments in the kitchen sink. The poisonous kind.

At any rate, both men stared intently at the machine for several minutes, until John sneezed. Sherlock, not expecting this distraction to his train of thought, fell off his chair.

"John, was that really necessary?"

"Yes. I had to sneeze. Would you have preferred that I hold it in and damage my sinuses?"

"Of course."

". . ."

"Well, you asked. But now that I'm, ah, up . . ." Sherlock pulled himself off the floor with great dignity and strolled over to the machine, examining it as closely as he could get.

"Sherlock," said John,

"you may wish to examine it using this." Watson handed over Holmes' magnifying glass.

It was accepted without a word of thanks, as Holmes refused to be distracted (again.) He simply continued examining the device. Several more minutes passed, during which Watson attempted to forget the steadily growing itch next to his nose. To his utter relief, Holmes sighed and stepped back after a while, which he took as a signal that he could move and make noise again.

"Did you observe anything useful?" Watson inquired, scratching the aforementioned itch.

"Nothing that we could not infer thus far," Holmes replied, staring solemnly down at the strange object. "It is certainly nothing made in this time period, and has properties of time-travel."

"Good heavens, Holmes!"

Watson was treated to a raised eyebrow and a scornful look. "I would expect that to be evident. The outer casing is of a durability scientists have only theorized about, to date. I keep up with all important scientific discoveries, but I cannot even begin to guess as to what is inside this machine. Of course, there is also the fact that we have received a piece of paper of a quality that is impossible to produce in these times. I believe the truth is self-evident. This device is from the future, and has been transported here through time-travel."

With that astonishing burst of logic, the consulting detective wandered off to the mantelpiece in search of the Persian slipper that customarily held his tobacco. The good doctor was left staring at the machine and the paper – he still wasn't quite convinced that it was from the future – and heartily wishing that they would disappear so that his life could return to as close to normal as it ever got.

The device crushed those wishes as it began to make a humming noise. Holmes and Watson turned to face it instinctively and watched as another sheet of paper exited the small slit that had performed the function before.

On second glance, Watson thought it might not be paper at all. The thin sheet resembled no paper he'd ever seen. Eventually, it stopped emerging from the machine. He glanced over, but the detective made no move to retrieve the sheet. The good doctor finally took it upon himself to retrieve the . . . paper, for lack of a better word. Amazingly, the words on it were in English – strange wording, but English nevertheless.

_..._

_To the esteemed Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, and Mr. Holmes and Dr. John Watson,_

_I have recently found myself chasing after a certain individual. He and I have had a long rivalry, but I have in the past always been able to halt his plans. However, I have lost track of him in the London area. He has hidden himself from all the tracking methods I know, save for simple looking. Like myself, this person has the ability to pass through time as easily as space – you know this as time-travel, and the machines I have given to you are proof of this ability._

_More urgent matters keep me away from London at this time, but given enough time, this man could bring London under his total control, and from there England. I expect to return before he attempts all of Earth, but I'd rather that he is stopped before that stage of his plans. _

_You may have hears of recent incidents that involve inexplicable phenomena (large words are so wonderful, don't you think?) or they may have been expertly hidden. In either case, expect strange events to occur all over London shortly. I believe even such jaded individuals as yourselves will find this matter interesting, to say the least. _

_If you have further questions, or find him, press the orange circle, then send a letter through the machine. I will respond as soon as you can, or come to retrieve him._

_Farewell._

.

Doctor John Watson had seen a great deal in his life. He had been an army surgeon in Afghanistan, and known all the horrors of war. He had returned to London and met Sherlock Holmes, accompanying his friend on more cases than he could remember.

He had never even _imagined_ anything like this.

"Holmes? What do you plan to do?"

Sherlock Holmes carefully set his pipe down, then walked to the door and retrieved his coat. "Watson," he began, "I need to make some inquiries. Please stay here in case further messages arrive.

"I'll be back later, I don't know what time. _You_ are going to stay here and keep an eye on that machine." Sherlock Holmes shrugged on his coat and wrapped his scarf around his neck, talking the entire time.

"So we don't know who sent this, where it's from or really anything else, and you're still going to go chasing after this . . . man." Doctor John Watson's tone was anything but amused. "Why?"

Sherlock stopped for a moment with his hand on the doorknob. He seemed to be choosing his next words with extreme care. After a long moment, he turned towards his friend. "Because it's just so _interesting_."

John sat still for a minute, thinking the words over. He then calmly nodded his head, as a teacher to a student who had given a correct answer, or a parent giving a child permission to go out and play. "Be careful, Sherlock."

The consulting detective swept out of the room without another word.


End file.
